Sony Music Entertainment is making sweeping layoffs, in the first reorganizational move by its new chairman and chief executive officer, Andrew Lack.

Lack, who succeeded Tommy Mottola as chairman and chief executive about three months ago, plans to eliminate 1,000 jobs in the United States and abroad as part of a cost-reduction plan that would try to cut expenses of more than $100 million a year, people close to the company said Thursday.

The cuts include about 300 positions in the United States. The layoffs will affect people who work in distribution, manufacturing, administrative support, corporate offices and both record labels, Columbia Records and Epic Records.The layoffs come as Lack seeks to restructure, streamline and leave an imprint on a company that was run for 14 years by Mottola, an industry giant. Mottola left under a pall after the music division experienced huge financial losses as its market share continued to shrink. Lack, the former president and chief operating officer of NBC, was hired by Howard Stringer, chief of Sony of America, in the hopes that he could help improve the division’s finances.

“We are also combining some functions, most notably in sales and distribution, in order to minimize duplication of efforts and more efficiently serve the needs of our artists, employees and customers,'’ Lack said in an undated memo to employees.

In about two weeks, Lack is expected to announce sweeping management changes that will dismantle the structure of Mottola’s longtime administration but keep many of its players.